


The Seeds of Change

by SicOfElephants



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Basically my headcanons for what Nick and John's relationship was like before the cult took over, Big old backstory type thing, F/M, M/M, Unrequited Love, Will probably add more late
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 07:56:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15115058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SicOfElephants/pseuds/SicOfElephants
Summary: John Seed and Nick Rye could have been close friends if John wasn't a sadistic manipulator Herald for his brother's religious cult. An exploration of what the relationships were like between people in Hope County with the Seed brothers before they went full on End of the World Reaping.





	1. Big Sky Country

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in about 6 years, so forgive me for being rusty. This is going to be a big one. I fully blame a discord chat gone awry for what is going to surmount to a mammoth pining fic between my two(2) special plane boys.

The Seed Family had rolled into town on a dull Tuesday afternoon about 7 years ago, 3 brothers who quietly bought up the big ranch south west of Fall’s End. The place had been vacant for the last few years, more people trying to leave the valley than settle down in it. At first, no one noticed the family much past them turning up in town to enquire about buying the ranch and the land surrounding it. Most of the townsfolk wondered why 3 youngish men needed such a big space, wondered at the experience any of them had when it came to working a ranch. Wondered where they got the cash. Back then, there had been a subtle southern lull in their voices, not that any of them spoke much. The youngest seemed the most talkative, a glint in his eye, butter-soft words, and brilliantly white teeth as he negotiated the price. He was in his mid twenties, a well-groomed dark stubble across his sharp jaw that made him stand out from the regular, rugged Montana men that had lived in Holland Valley all their lives. The other two brothers stood back, older than their sibling by a good few years. One stood rigid, shoulders square, feet apart, and hands clasped in a way that would have given him away as a military man if it weren’t for the regulation jacket and the dog tags hanging from his neck. His gaze rested on the imaginary horizon, as though still on duty, still on patrol, still waiting for that enemy to come, seeing everything and looking at nothing. If his presence was unnerving, it was nothing compared to the middle brother, all wide eyes and piercing stare covered by bizarre yellow glasses. He radiated a stillness that seemed altogether unnatural, and he smiled often as the youngest spoke. John it transpired, discussed the terms of the ranch’s purchase. 

“...you fellas aren’t from round here, are you?” The man studied John quietly as he spoke. He didn’t look in the least familiar, and he couldn’t see a trace of any of the families that lived in the valley in the features of these brothers’ faces. You didn’t just happen across Holland Valley, you came because you had some distant relative there, or you were born there. You knew it was there. These 3 men had turned up out of nowhere, asking questions about the town and the county like they had read about it in some travel guide and were looking to see the sights. Yet somehow they knew about the ranch, and even more strangely, wanted to buy it. The place hadn’t been a profitable business for the last two decades, and the damn place just wouldn’t sell for love nor money. John simply smiled wider at the man, letting out a laugh before continuing. 

“Is it that obvious?” His smile faded a little after he spoke, getting no reaction from the man behind the desk. The silence lingered in the air like stale smoke in a dive bar, hinting at something on edge beneath the niceties. John cleared his throat like he was about to speak again when the man cut him off. 

“Look, I only ask because Hope County might not be the place for you boys. Ranch has seen better days, and ain’t really worth all that much to anyone who ain’t got the wherewithal to turn it around. No offense, but you don’t seem the type to be ranch hands,” He notably glanced at John’s impeccable dress shirt, pausing before continuing, “and there ain’t many folk left in town looking for work these days. Maybe you’d be better off heading to Missoula.” John laughed again, a dissatisfied sounding huff, and placed his hands down on the desk in front of him, leaning heavily, shoulders rounded, and moved closer to the man behind it. He was about to speak again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The odd looking brother with the yellow glasses motioned with his head for John to move over and stood next to him in front of the desk, clasping his hands behind his back. He stood motionless, staring at the face of the man John had been speaking with as though sifting through his thoughts, the edges of his mouth curving into a slight smile. Up close, he seemed even more oppressive, and that unwavering stare seemed to pierce right through him. The man tried to hide his involuntary shudder. Finally, the other brother spoke. 

“Hope County will be a new home for us. We will work the land as needed. We will build a new life here. We will welcome you as neighbour, help build a community.” He paused, nodding to his brother John once more who promptly withdrew three crisp stacks of 50 dollar bills from his back pocket, somehow unaffected by their time in his jeans. The man reckoned there was at least 15 grand on the table and he contemplated the stacks neatly placed in front of him before looking back up at the brothers. The eldest hadn’t moved from his spot near the door, except now he was watching the man carefully, peering between his brothers’ shoulders. The man looked between them all and the money, saying nothing. John inhaled a long quiet breath in, spreading his face back into that winning smile. 

“A deposit. We can transfer the rest of the funds to you today, if it suits you. We’d really like that ranch.” The man just kept looking. They all three of them had the same eyes, those eyes that bored their way through him, made him feel like a deer caught in the headlights. Like he was prey. He seemed to think it over, unsure of these strange newcomers so insistent on a beat up old ranch miles from anything. He would understand them buying property in town, if he understood them coming here at all. The youngest certainly had the air of a city dweller about him. The brief glance he had had as John had rested his hands on the table had told him he hadn’t worked a day’s labour in his life, though he noticed the odd scar on the back of his wrists, peeking out the edge of his sleeves. Maybe from a childhood spent playing in trees and scrambling through the brush back down in the south. He thought he could glimpse the lines of what might be a tattoo on his arms, but the long sleeves of his shirt revealed little. But damn if he hadn’t been trying to shift that cursed ranch for years, and the money before him was a welcome offer. Without another word, he opened his desk drawer, pulling out a key from the few he had littered in there. He paused, catching sight of the old pistol he kept in the back of the drawer, briefly wondering why it struck him, but pushed the drawer shut again, holding the key out to them. 

“...Welcome to Holland Valley, fellas.” 

\--

News of the newcomers had spread in Fall’s End pretty quickly. Nothing more than that the old ranch had been bought up by a family of brothers who seemed friendly enough. No one had seen them in town yet, which seemed surprising since it was the only place to get supplies for miles. Mary May had been working behind the bar, a young girl just barely eighteen, fresh faced and freckled, just like her Daddy, chatting with Nick Rye as she flipped the bottle cap off another beer and handed it to him, mentioning in passing that he had a new neighbour. 

“The old ranch, huh?” Nick had said, eyebrows raising as he took a swig of the cold beer. “It’ll be good to have more folks around on the land that way. They ranchers?” He asked Mary May. She shrugged, drying off glasses with a dish towel. 

“Not much anyone knows about them. Supposedly nice enough.” 

“I oughtta swing by, introduce myself. See if they need a hand. Offer ‘em a tour of the valley courtesy of Nick Rye and his future sons.” Mary May snorted, shaking her head. 

“Yeah, that’ll be a long time coming, Nick.” Nick shook his head at her, gulping down more beer and letting out a loud burp. 

“I’m a fucking catch, Mary May.” 

\--

Nick decided to drive up the following afternoon, excited at the chance of having new neighbours after so many years. The ranch had belonged to a friend of his Dad’s, and the pair had spent almost every night drinking beers together, blaring rock music on the porch as they took shots at passing birds with an old rifle. Nick had spent almost every summer growing up helping with the cattle before he was old enough to learn to fly, and join his Dad’s business. The man had been like an uncle to Nick, and it broke his heart to watch the place fall into disrepair, cows long gone, and his Dad’s buddy dead. It’d be nice to see some new blood there. Nick had heard the brothers were around his age, and he had grown sick of hanging out with Sharky and Hurk all the time. They were great and all, but they had known each other since they were babies, and Nick could only talk about huntin’ puss for so long. 

He pulled up in front of the old house, scanning around for any sign of movement. There were big black cases everywhere, but the house was deathly still, and looked like it hadn’t even been touched yet. Years of grime had worn into the wood of the front porch, and stained the house a dusty brown. “...hello? Anyone home?” he called out his open window. There was no answer, no twitch of the curtains, no sound at all. He opened the door and got out his truck, stepping forward a few steps towards the door. “Name’s Nick. Nick Rye. I live just down the road a ways, down at the airstrip.” He waited, looking around again at nothing. Seemed odd to him there would be no one there only a few days after they had bought the place, and with shit lying around everywhere. Not that Holland Valley was the type of place to worry about thieves. Most houses were far away from anything to be a spur of the moment hit, and everyone knew each other anyways. No one locked their doors. Deciding they might have headed off to town to get supplies or something, Nick fished out a scrap of paper and a pen from his glove box, scrawling a note that read: “Hey neighbour, came to introduce myself but missed you. Let me know if you need anything, I’m down at the airstrip. - Nick Rye”. The old mailbox was long gone, knocked over one night when he and Sharky had taken a little joy ride up round the ranch after a night of heavy drinking at the Spread Eagle, so he left the note on the porch, pinning it down with a rock and heading home. Maybe he’d see them at the bar. 

\--

Jacob was the one who found the note, kicking the rock off with his boot and scooping it up roughly. He read it over saying nothing, heading over to Joseph coming up the stairs to the house and pinning it against his chest with his hand. The brothers had returned to Atlanta, packing up things from the church, moving families out that would follow them north, to Hope County, to Joseph’s promised land. John had been battling with the local law enforcement, using his connections built as an attorney to sway things in the family favour. They couldn’t prove anything, he whispered, smiling that sharp smile all teeth edge and never reaching his eyes. Circumstantial evidence at best. The family would move on quietly, and the missing man searched for long after they left. A few loyal followers had made the return trip with them, ready to help with the ranch, sleeping on the dusty floor like it was the softest bed.

Joseph was shaken from his reverie by his brother, taking the note from him and reading it through with a blank expression on his face. “They have welcomed us already. This is a good place. These are good people. Just as God told me, as he planned for us.” Jacob said nothing to this, looking at John coming up the steps behind Joseph. He stopped when he noticed his brothers looking at him. 

“...what? What is it?” He said, looking between his brothers. Joseph passed John the note, Jacob filling him in. 

“We missed the welcome wagon.” 

\--

Nick told Mary May about his venture up to the house that night in the Spread Eagle. “Thought they might have called, or dropped by or something. You seen ‘em in here yet?” Mary May shook her head. 

“No one’s seen ‘em yet. Maybe they’ve been busy. Maybe they don’t drink.” Mary May smirked, watching Nick shake his head drinking his beer and almost spilling it down himself. 

“Nobody doesn’t fuckin’ drink, Mary.” he said, sitting his beer down and wiping the drips that had snaked their way down his beard. “Maybe they’re moving their stuff in. Mac said they sounded like they were from the south. Maybe they had to drive back.” Mary shrugged. 

“Well, they’ll be in town sooner or later. Ain’t nobody patching that place up without supplies, and ain’t nothing that way for miles and miles and miles and miles and--” she chuckled as Nick cut her off.

“Alright, city girl, I get it, you love the big bright lights of Fall’s End.” 

“Well you drag your ass up here every night in my bar, you don’t see me coming to you.” 

Mary May was wrong, no one saw the family in town for the first two weeks after they had moved in, though there were rumours saying there were strange people all dressed in white hanging about the ranch, moving and fixing, and patching things up. No one had seen the strange people in town, and most folk just took it for people looking to stir the pot in the bar of an evening. Truth be told, everyone was itching to meet them. Who the hell moved in to Holland Valley? 

It was the Sunday three weeks after the ranch had been bought up that the brothers finally appeared in Fall’s End. Pastor Jerome had just started his sermon, welcoming the usual faces in the crowd, cracking a few jokes with people before getting into the main words of it. The church doors had quietly opened, no one paying much attention as there was a latecomer every week, nursing a hangover from one too many at the bar. It wasn’t until they had walked down a few rows of pews to be as close to the front as they could be that people began to realise it was the family there had been so many whispers about. Nick was sat reclining on a pew near the back of the church, eyes wandering to where that cute girl Holly was sat with her parents a few rows up, but the passing brothers broke his view, and he looked up at each of them as they passed, first Jacob, then Joseph and then John. The youngest did indeed seem to be about Nick’s age, maybe a few years older. The others looked like they were heading towards the later years of thirty. Nick wondered why none of them had settled yet, no women with them, and what had brought them here like a stray tumbleweed. A few people began to whisper to each other as they took a seat, Mary May turning round to catch Nick’s eye, facial expression amused and full of sparking curiosity. Pastor Jerome noticed them only from the rush of whispers they left in their path, pausing to glance at them before continuing to preach. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen a new face in his congregation. 

After the service had concluded, and people began to meander their way back to town, Mary May walked quickly to Nick, grabbing his arm and speaking closely in his ear. She always smelled distantly of beer and some sugar sweet perfume, and he could feel her warm breath on his neck as she spoke excitedly. “Well fuck me, if they ain’t a good looking family, Nicky.” He shook his head at her. She was always a sucker for a pretty boy. That’s what kept her turning Nick down. 

“Easy there, Mary, they’re all too old for you and you don’t know a damn thing about them.” 

“I know that youngest one has the finest ass in this whole damn county, and don’t you act shocked Nick Rye, I’ve heard you and Sharky cussin’ every which way since I was knee-high to a grasshopper and talking about every girl in this town like she’s a pork chop ready to get eaten up.” His shocked face at her declaration was cut short, and by the end he was grinning sheepishly. Sharky was a bad influence. He noticed that the middle brother had stopped to talk to Pastor Jerome, wide smile on his face as he spoke animatedly with him. Oddly, Jerome didn’t seem quite so enthusiastic, but he nodded patiently, and spoke every now and then between breaks in the man’s words. The other two brothers stood a little ways off, the youngest flashing a big pearly grin as he chatted with some of the townsfolk. Mary May was watching him approvingly, and he noticed a few of the other women similarly entranced, casting too-long glances at him and walking more slowly than usual. The eldest brother stood, arms crossed, between his two siblings, watching John talk but saying nothing himself. His deep red hair marked him out from his brothers, but he had those same startlingly blue eyes, his razor sharp compared to the warmth of his siblings. “Come on, we’re gonna go talk to them.” Before he knew what was happening, Mary May had dragged him over by his arm, making a beeline for the youngest brother. The group he had been talking to began to wander off as they approached him, and he turned to them with that brilliant smile never faltering. Up close, Nick felt there was an odd tension in the man’s jaw, and stiffness to his shoulders he tried to cover as he moved. Maybe he just seemed tense next to the intensity of his eldest brother. Nick looked at them both as Mary May spoke. “Hey there, you must be the new family that’s moved in up at the old ranch. We wondered when we might see you in town.” John watched her intently, giving her his undivided attention with soft eyes never leaving hers. Nick could see a faint flush rising on Mary May’s neck as she spoke, swallowing slightly after her words, but never faltering. “I’m Mary May, I work up at my Daddy’s bar, the Spread Eagle, and this,” she tugged on Nick’s arm “is Nick Rye. He works with his Daddy at Rye & Sons not too far down the road from the ranch. Big airstrip? They help out crop dustin’, giving tours, that sort of thing.” John glanced at Nick, giving him a quick nod and turning back to Mary May. 

“What a pleasure to meet you both. I’m John Seed. This,” he moved over to where his brother stood scowling and gripped both his shoulders, shaking him as best he could, “is my oldest brother Jacob, and that over there,” he nodded over to where the middle brother stood still chewing the Pastor’s ear off, “is t-- Joseph.” The stutter was almost imperceptible, and he quickly hid it behind that ever-present smile. Jacob said nothing. “We are looking forward to joining the community.” John said, turning to face Nick again. Nick couldn’t work this guy out. He seemed nice enough, genuine and warm, well-dressed. Obviously well educated. He had almost completely thrown off the southern lilt in his accent, and from the shirt he was wearing, clearly had money. But there was something off. Nick shook it off as him just not meeting new people often, trying not to judge the brothers before he got to know them. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had moved into the area, especially not from outside Montana, and especially not the surrounding states. It made him apprehensive. He still couldn’t wrap his head around why anyone, let alone three fairly young brothers, would move out to the sticks. John seemed like he might have been about to speak, but Nick jumped in. 

“You guys ever fancy a drink, you can find us down in the Spread Eagle most nights. Best way to meet everyone in town, most folks spend their evenings there. Be nice to have some fresh faces in the place.” Mary May glowed as she looked at Nick. He could tell she was delighted at the prospect of getting this guy in her bar. 

“That’s kind of you.” John said, glancing at his brother Jacob briefly. He kept his silence, but cleared his throat in a gruff way, and shifted his stance. “You said you’ve got the airstrip down the way?” John had turned to Nick again, those keen eyes locking onto him. Nick nodded. “Rye & Sons was it?” John’s voice was smooth as silk, and almost hypnotic. It was oddly soothing.

“Sure is.”

“What kind of planes do you have?” His eyes seemed to glimmer more as he asked the question, showing that same keen interest in Nick as he had speaking with Mary May, like Nick was the only thing that mattered in that moment. He almost found it endearing.

“We got Carmina, she’s an old seaplane my Grandaddy bought after he came home from the war, and she’s a thing of fuckin’ beauty. You lookin’ to hire a plane?” 

“Actually, I was looking to buy one. We’ve got big plans for the ranch, and we’re hoping to have our own airstrip on the land. Once we’ve done the place up, maybe we can come by and take a look at what you have.” Nick shook his head.

“Nah, I’m afraid no can do, Carmina ain’t for sale, and our other plane is out of commission at the moment. You fellas need an airstrip, huh? What is it you guys do?” John smiled widely, stretching his arms out and laughing softly. This guy sure was a smooth talker.

“Family business, same as you.” Nick’s eye was caught by the other brother finally breaking away from Pastor Jerome and walking over to where the four were gathered. He placed a hand gently on John’s shoulder, but he flinched as though a pile of bricks had landed on him. “Joseph” John said, without looking at his brother. “These are our neighbours, Mary May and Nick Rye.” Joseph stared unblinkingly at them, smiling and speaking just as softly as his younger brother. 

“Ahhh, the good samaritans.” Nick stood confused. “We appreciated your note.” The note. Nick had forgotten he left it, and it struck him as strange John hadn’t mentioned it. “I hope we can help each other in the future, Nick Rye.” This sibling creeped Nick out even more than the other two, but he couldn’t put his finger on why. Maybe the way those yellow lenses made his blue eyes muddy, all at once hidden and magnified by the glasses. They all stood, awkward in the niceties of new conversation before John broke the silence. 

“Well, it has been swell getting to meet the pair of you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of each other from now on.” If it hadn’t been for his sickly sweet smile, one Mary May returned gladly, that would almost have sounded ominous. The three brothers headed off to where Nick could see there was a large white truck parked, waving at a few people who greeted them on the way. City boys, he thought, the damn thing was gleaming with not a dent or nick on it. 

\--

The bar was buzzing that night with talk of the new brothers. How handsome and friendly they were. Guesses at what they did, why they wanted the ranch, why they had come here of all places. Whether they had girlfriends or wives. Or boyfriends, Sharky pointed out loudly. Ain’t no need to be making assumptions. Mary May had that same flushed look on her face she had done that morning as she talked about their meeting with the youngest brother. 

“There were three of them, you realise that, Mary May?” Nick couldn’t help the corners of his mouth curling to a grin before sipping his beer. That girl. 

“Yeah, and any one of them could get it. I’m just saying.” 

“You’re a freak, Mary May.”

“You’re a dick, Nick Rye.”

Nick laughed again, finishing the dregs of his beer and contemplating the road home. But his mind stuck again on these three brothers. Breezing in to town with their charm, and their money. Wanting a plane? That’s an odd one. Sure, a fair number of folk had planes in Holland Valley, but most of them used them for crop dusting, same as Nick, or for an easy means of travelling the county. Beat up old things on tiny strips of clear land that hardly counted for anything. Building a full on airstrip? For a cattle ranch? Seemed weird to Nick. And that John had been so charming, so polite, asking all the right questions, but said nothing about the note Nick left. He was thinking too much. They were just new and he was just curious. He wondered when he might meet them again.


	2. Reaching Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might get trimmed down a bit, because it's massive, but here's chapter 2.

Weeks went by, and the only time the Seed brothers were seen was on Sunday morning in church. They chatted idly with people after the service, Joseph usually catching Pastor Jerome before he could escape him politely, and they always waved at Nick and Mary May when passing. People just supposed they were the type to keep to themselves, though that wasn’t a common trait around there. Nick didn’t think too much on it; they had never come round to the airstip looking for him, and they clearly didn’t seem to be reaching out to start up their business. They were easy enough neighbours, quiet and unobtrusive. He was disappointed they had never appeared in the bar, that they might not be the new company he sought, but there wasn’t much to do about it. 

“I dunno why they haven’t been down here.” Mary May huffed, speaking of the brothers much less enthusiastically now it was clear they weren’t going to be in town much. “Nothing up that way to entertain them... Do you think there’s somethin’ wrong with them? Maybe they left town in a hurry, maybe they have some big secret.” She gasped, a new thought darting in her mind. “Maybe they _murdered_ someone.” Nick just snorted a laugh at her, coughing as he swallowed his beer the wrong way.

“Maybe you watch too much shit T.V. They’re probably just working away up there, fixing the place up, the place is a hole. And then they’re gonna have a whole bunch of stuff to move in.” He sat mulling his words over. “ Honestly, what the fuck though? Not even comin’ for a drink?” Mary May smiled a wicked grin, and leaned over the bar to Nick, lowering her voice and putting her hand round her mouth in an exaggerated way like she was telling a precious secret. 

“Nick, I’ve got it. They are totally _Mormons_.” 

“Psshh, they are _not_ Mormons, Mary--”

“Come on, think about it. Devilishly good lookin', and that young one, John, always wearing a good shirt. Always in church. Pastor Jerome says that that Joseph has some interesting ideas about the good book, and he sure does like to challenge him about it. Never in the bar…”

“They’re not Mormons, I’m tellin’ you!” Nick felt a familiar slump of an arm thrown about his shoulders, and the foul smell of too many different alcohols mingled on stale breath as Sharky shoved his way onto the bar stool next to him. 

“What are you guys talkin’ about fuckin’ Mormons for? You convertin’ on me, Nick? Can’t take me drinking you under the table, hm?” Nick shoved Sharky too roughly to sit upright on the stool next to him and both ended up laughing as he clutched the bar tightly to stop himself falling over. 

“Nah, Sharky, Mary May here thinks those new brothers up the way have come all the way from the south to talk to us about our lord saviour Jesus Christ and the welfare of our eternal souls.” Mary May shook her head at Nick, turning to face Sharky. 

“You got a better idea? Not like we’ve seen ‘em anywhere but church.” Sharky pondered this for a moment, with a soft burp and a hiccup. 

“Nah, can’t be Mormons,” he said, “otherwise they’d have like eight wives each and a gaggle of kids trailin’ around.” 

“Shark, that’s an outdated and offensive stereotype.” Nick replied. The three fell quiet, before Mary May piped up again.

“Maybe they keep ‘em up at the ranch, that’s what everyone was talking about with those people in white!”

“They are not Mormons, I’m telling you. One of them wears a fuckin’ army uniform.” Nick shook his head exasperatedly at his friends. 

“What, like Mormons can’t fight in wars? You always get missionaries of theirs somewhere, wars are practically what they live for. Wars and sister-wives. ” Sharky pointed out. Mary May jumped in.

“Nick, you’ve got to call round at that ranch again and get inside, we need to know what their game is, you’d be doing a service to the community!” 

“Yeah, come on, Nick. Do a recon mission, scope the place out, work out what tickles their fancy, why they get rock hard for God like Hurk does for a breeze on his bare ass.” 

“You guys are sick….” Nick thought about it. It would explain a lot. They did only ever go to church. There were a lot of rumours. If they had a secret family of wives, they would need a big ranch. Nick tried to think if he had seen any wedding rings on their fingers. He shook his head again. Nah, no way. Though it wouldn’t hurt to head up, see how the place is working out for them. Offer them a friendly hand… Fuck it, he needed to know what was up. “I will go out of the goodness of my heart, and as a congenial neighbour, not because I think they are some weird Bible bashing polygamists. And I won’t tell you guys shit about it.” Sharky punched the air and overthrew his balance, clinging on to the bar again for dear life. 

“I’m tellin’ you, man, you are going to find some weird shit. You should take a spycam and make a documentary: The Seeds of Change or some shit, it’ll be so great, I’d even pay for cable to watch it. The Real Mormons of Holland Valley.” 

“Fuck off, Shark.” 

\--

Nick did think he should head up the way and see if the new guys needed anything. He definitely wasn’t contemplating just how likely it was that these three brothers were here to convert them all to Mormonism and make them join a cult. He took the afternoon off from fixing up the ancient old plane sitting in the hangar. His Daddy had bought it years ago to do up the way his Dad had done Carmina, but he had bought a humdinger of a wreck, better for scrap than anything else. May as well sell it for parts these days than spend the amount of time and money needed to get it anywhere near working order. He certainly wasn’t going to get much further that afternoon than he had done working on it the past 2 years. 

Heading up the road in his big pickup, singing to the radio as it blasted the type of songs his Dad would have listened to, he noticed a few guys out in the fields around the ranch driving mini diggers, shifting piles of earth this way and that and looking to Nick like they weren’t achieving a whole lot. He didn’t recognise them. He wasn’t quite sure how far the boundaries of the ranch’s land went, but he felt pretty certain they were outside it. They must really be setting up something big. Shaking it off, he carried on up the dirt path to the house. Or where the house used to be. There wasn’t a whole lot left where the house had been standing, and there were two big excavators clearly in the process of landscaping the now bare earth. He pulled over off to the side after a particularly close call with a pile of rubble near the fence edge he almost didn’t see. Standing up out of his truck, Nick watched the hive of activity going on, more strange people in white shirts he didn’t recognise. Shit, maybe Mary May was right. He had been about to turn around and leave again when he spotted two of the Seed brothers by one of the excavators. The tallest, Jacob, was stood on the side step, clearly talking to the operator and pointing at whatever was going on past the machine. John was not too far off, holding a drafting board with what looked like blueprints on them, shirt sleeves rolled up. Nick noticed a couple of tattoos on his forearms, surprised, and pretty sure that didn’t tie in with the whole Mormon thing. Neither of them were facing him, and he took the opportunity to watch them both when they weren’t in front of the townspeople. They seemed like regular guys, though polar opposites. Jacob struck him as a practical man, little fuss in his appearance with his army jacket a firm fixture in his wardrobe. He wore jeans that looked like they had seen better days, and big muddy combat boots. Nick could see the handle of a big survivalist knife sticking out from under the back of his shirt as he moved, and he had a vision of him out hunting in the woods, skinning bucks with a practiced hand, probably tanning his own leather for his crafting hut where he sat drinking craft beer, smoking a pipe, listening to Bon Iver. No way he was a Mormon, that’s for sure. The guy was an ex-military hipster, probably glorified ‘the hunt’ and talked emphatically about minimalism or some shit. John walked around with a swing in his hips like a strutting peacock, head held back and walking slow, like he had all the time in the world. When he spoke to people around the site, Nick could see them opening up to him completely, eyes shining at him like they couldn’t quite believe he was talking to them. When he broke away, he gently squeezed the upper arm of whoever he was speaking to, and most of them left looking slightly dazed. That struck him as something that would help spreading the word of the Lord, but maybe the guy was just an arrogant shit. He couldn’t see the other brother anywhere, and he was kind of glad of that fact. John had turned and was walking over to lay the board against a stack of big black crates, when he caught Nick’s eye and grinned at him. Nick wondered off-hand where he got such great dental work done. 

“Nick!” He crooned, quickly walking over to him. Jacob turned hearing his brother call out, but didn’t seem interested in joining the conversation, and began pointing again as the operator of the excavator nodded his head. “What is it that brings you our way today?” He put a hand on either of Nick’s shoulders, filling his view like he was trying to stop him from seeing what was going on behind him. He was probably just imagining things, but his grip felt uncomfortable and he found himself moving backwards despite himself. 

“You guys weren’t kiddin’ about having big plans for this place, huh?” Nick tried peering past John, but he moved to his side, turning him away with a gentle push and started walking with him away from the site.

“Well, we were keen to get started right away. Why do tomorrow what you can do today and all that.” Nick wondered if John’s face ever hurt from all his smiling. 

“You guys lookin’ to have the biggest ranch in town or something? Am I gonna need to watch my back in the booming business world of Holland Valley?” Nick cracked a smile of his own at John’s, hoping it might warm him up a bit if he thought he was being receptive. He didn’t like the feeling that John was keeping him away from the building site, and he couldn’t help that voice in his head saying maybe Mary May was right again. No way, she couldn’t be. He realised he hadn’t been looking at John’s face as his brained worked away, and he noticed a warmth in his eyes as he turned to face him fully again. Nick was thinking too much about this whole thing. 

“Don’t worry, like I said, we’re looking to be part of things here, not take over.” He paused, looking at Nick with his hands on his hips before gesturing back at the site. The little flourishes in his movements were almost ridiculous. No way this guy was working a farm. He was built for more than that. “I’m sorry we’re not exactly in the place to entertain right now. I’d offer you a drink but, you know…” 

“Nah, man, don’t worry about it. Was seeing how you guys were settlin’ in. We don’t see you in town very much, thought you might be busy. Might need a cup of sugar or somethin’...” John laughed again, soft and low, as perfect and practiced as the way he spoke. 

“Oh we might, soon enough, but I think we better build the kitchen first, don’t you?” 

“Sure does seem like you guys have your work cut out for you.” Nick paused. “Listen, I’ll leave you guys to it just now, but you should swing by some time. I know Mary May would love to see you guys in the bar.” He said, giving John a small wave as he headed back to his truck. He stopped suddenly, like he’d forgotten something. John hadn’t moved from where he left him, squinting his eyes in the late sunshine as he watched him walk off. “Hey, you guys never said what you were plannin’ to do with the place. What you all do.” John’s face seemed stoney for a second, but it might have just been a trick of the light. 

“Oh, it’ll become clear soon enough.” This guy with his ominous way of saying mundane stuff. “I’ll see you around, Nick.” Nick waved again, yanking open the door to his truck and clambering in. He felt even more unsettled now than we he had driven up, but he had no clue why. Thank fuck that creepy brother hadn’t been there. Nick couldn’t take his prophetic airy way of talking. 

John watched the truck drive off, giving a quick wave that Nick might see in the mirror before turning back towards to site and smacking straight into his brother’s chest. Despite being the biggest sibling, Jacob had learned the eerie skill of moving completely silently during his military training, and he haunted his brothers often when he wanted to rattle them. “Christ, Jacob, you just about scared the shit out of me.” A smile played at the corners of Jacob’s lips, as he grabbed his brother by the shoulders, squeezing them with a fraction of his strength but that was more than enough for John.

“You’ve got to stop that one hanging round here, John. He’s getting too curious for his own good. We need to get settled here, build it up. We get strong, and then we recruit.” John glowered at his brother, small creases appearing in his forehead as he frowned. Jacob let out a hint of a laugh, shaking John gently before letting go. “I’m not chastising you.” Jacob’s face quickly went serious again, no hint of amusement in his features. “Keep him out of here, John.” His voice was as soft as his brother’s, but the tone made John’s blood run cold. 

“...alright. I understand.” 

Jacob brought their foreheads together, pressing them softly with a hand behind John’s head. John could feel the heat in his cheeks as Jacob pulled away from him. The responsibility of having a task from his brothers always made him anxious and angry, keen as much to be seen worthy of it as he was to avoid disappointing them. But Jacob had always been the comforter to John, his protector, and he had seen John’s anxiety and desperation eat away at him from inside. He always remembered that small, loving boy run to him crying, covered in angry welts, asking over and over what he had done wrong. This was his weakness. His heavy, rough hand moved to John’s cheek, and he shook him gently again to break his reverie. “You better watch your mouth before Joseph gets back.” 

\--

Sharky and Mary May were desperate to hear what Nick had seen when he dropped into conversation that he had been up at the ranch after an hour of sitting in the bar.  
“What the fuck, dude, you can’t just casually drop that shit into the conversation. Why didn’t you tell us sooner, man? What d’you see? They try and indoctrinate you? Sink their claws in? Wash your brain? They let you fuck their wives? In some kind of twisted Christian sex party?” Nick nearly choked on his drink. 

“God damn, Shark, you have got some problems, my man.” 

“So did you see ‘em? Did they let you in?” Mary May cut in. She sat the glass she was cleaning on the bar, and threw her towel over her shoulder, staring Nick dead in his eyes with a face like thunder. He knew that even if there was something he was hiding, she would needle it out of him. 

“Well, there ain’t really anything left there for ‘em to let me in to. They’re tearin’ the place down. You should see it, there’s not a damn scrape of dirt left from the old place.” Mary May seemed to consider this, her eyes taking on a wicked gleam suddenly. 

“That means they’re staying elsewhere, then. Must be in town somewhere. You know, it’d only be decent to offer them a room here, and it’s not like anyone else is renting them.” 

“You have two rooms here, Mary, and they’re no bigger than shoeboxes. Have you even opened the door in the last year?” Nick admired her enthusiasm, but he couldn’t see her convincing her Daddy that the three brothers that were all any of the women in town could talk about for weeks should be allowed to take up residency in his business where his young daughter was working. “Anyway, I thought you thought they were religious whack jobs here to bring the word of the Lord out from our own Bible belt.” She shrugged.

“If you had seen anything that made you believe that, you’d have told us by now, and I can see right through your shit so I know you’re not lying. So what’d they say about the place? Did they say what they were hopin’ to get into up there?”

“Nah, I couldn’t really get anything out of them, the guy was just a smile on a bag of niceties.” He saw that spark catch again in Mary May’s eye. She knew fine well which brother he had run into. 

“Well, are they coming in here ever? Christ, I almost feel like taking the beer up there myself just to let them know we’re here.”

“I dunno, man, I wasn’t there long, and I still can’t get any idea on these guys at all. Better left alone, I’d say.” Sharky had clearly grown bored of the conversation and butted in, feeling this was as good a place as any to end it. 

“Yo, I haven’t even seen these fuckers yet, at church or not. Who gives a shit? Now what I have seen, is this guy Larry, he lives out in this trailer with his Momma, gone a little crazy in the sun I’d say, built this big fuckin’ contraption told me was gonna be a teleport someday, wanted to know if I knew anything about siphoning off power from the grid.”

The door to the bar opened quietly, no one paying any attention as Sharky continued with another wild tale everyone was sure he just pulled out his ass. It was Mary May’s face that gave away just exactly who had walked into her bar, but Nick felt a hand on his shoulder before he could even turn round. He and Sharky both looked back at the same time, Sharky still mid sentence, and his words slowly trailed off as he realised this wasn’t someone he knew. “...and before I knew it I was back on that tower where I fingerblasted--”

There stood John, smiling his perfect smile, and looking in that dimly lit bar like a fucking god all dark hair and stormy eyes, sleeves of his shirt pushed back and top button undone. Nick knew Mary May’s face must have been an absolute picture without even looking at her. “Nick Rye. Just the man I was looking for.” He looked up at Mary May behind the bar, nodding his head. “Mary May, a pleasure to see you again.” She was trying so hard to play it cool in front of John, but she let out a nervous chuckle that belied her excitement, and only grinned at him in response. Sharky stared blankly at the man who had interrupted his story. 

“Hi, John, how’s it goin’?” Nick took the opportunity to speak before the silence got weird. He couldn’t quite believe the man was here, in the flesh. He actually felt kind of pleased to see him. Maybe he was normal. “You met Sharky yet?” There was a hint of a laugh in John’s voice as he spoke, turning to face Sharky with his hand still on Nick’s shoulder. Nick wasn’t sure if he minded or not. 

“Sharky? I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure yet. I’m John Seed. There’s got to be a story behind that name, I bet.” Sharky pointedly looked John up and down, taking in the dark shirt, the tight jeans, the tattooed forearms. The earring. Something seemed to agree in Sharky’s head at this point that this man was very probably not a Mormon, so he was probably a pretty cool guy, and a new potential partner in crime.

“Yeah man, named after my uncle Charlie. I know that’s not the same name, but see, his name was Charlemagne and like no fucking way am I gettin’ called that, that is not my vibe man, you know. I’m more of a Sharky, y’now, li-like a predator and shit. Yeah, he got to name me ‘cos of this bet thing he had with my old man, you see, my old man said to my uncle that if-if he got these big fake titties--” Mary May jumped in before Sharky could finish his sentence.

“Sharky, maybe don’t chew the poor guy’s ear off with your shit, huh?”

“Hey man, it’s fine, he’s-” he pauses to hiccup, face creased in momentary concentration, “he’s cool man, he’s-he’s not a Mormon--”

“Sharky! Let the man get a drink, huh?” Mary May’s face was flushed in embarrassment, hoping to God John didn’t think they had been talking about the likelihood of that before he came in. If he had been at all bothered by this, it didn’t show. He let out a laugh at Sharky, patting him on the back, and moving round to sit in the other bar stool next to Nick. Sharky almost looked hurt it wasn’t next to him. 

“Well, that certainly sounds like quite a story. I’m sure I can hear it some other time.” John caught Nick’s eye, amused spark catching in the light as he turned back to Mary May.

“What can I get you?” She asked, flashing her sweetest smile at John whose mouth curled, looking up at her darkly in the low light. 

“Soda water, plenty of ice, and a wedge of lime, if you wouldn’t mind.” The three stopped, glancing at each other, before Mary May replied. 

“Um… we don’t have any lime.” 

“Well, that’s alright. You can leave out the lime.” Sharky was looking at John like he had just insulted his whole family. 

“Ok well… we don’t have any soda water.” John’s smile faltered. 

“Alright, then ice water is fine.” 

“...we don’t have any ice.” John looked blankly at her.

“Well, what do you have?” 

“Uhhh… we’ve got… whisky… and beer.” John shifted in his seat, leaning his crossed arms on the bar. He cleared his throat before opening his mouth to continue, and it was the first time Nick had seen him without a trace of amusement on his face. Mary May jumped in eagerly before John said anything. “But, uh… I mean… we have a faucet if… it’s not great but. I can give you water.” Nick felt sympathy for poor Mary May. She wanted so desperately to catch his eye. John sighed and gave a half-hearted smile. 

“Water will do just fine.” John kept his gaze on the bar while Mary May fetched him a glass of water, Sharky shaking Nick’s shoulder violently and mouthing I fucking knew it to him. Nick shoved him off, taking a long sip of his beer, and feeling way too buzzed to be dealing with this shit. He was unnerved by John’s appearance at the bar, he had given up all hope of any of them coming down. Now here he was, but there was something off again. This guy doesn’t drink? 

“So, uh…” Nick tried to catch John’s attention again, who was busy watching Mary May bring over a warm glass of water in a half pint glass, eyes settling on it with unreadable features as she sat it on a coaster in front of him. “Just you, huh? Your brothers busy?” Sharky was still shaking his shoulder, and Nick was using a hand to try and shove him off while talking normally to John. John managed to drag his eyes back to Nick, open and inviting for once instead of his usual grinning face. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I not entertaining enough for you?” There was a mischievous glint in his eye, and his lip curled as he spoke. “Is the mystery of the Seed family proving too much for the town?” Nick was sure he was joking, but this had a tension skimming beneath the surface of John’s words sometimes that he wasn’t sure was going to be held back. He’d only met this guy a handful of times, and had gotten very little from that. Mary May’s words still lingered in his head. Maybe they skipped town… 

“Ah, nah, man, it ain’t that, we were just lookin’ forward to gettin’ to know all of you. Y’know, I don’t remember the last time anyone new moved into town.” John laughed, and set a hand on Nick’s shoulder again, squeezing it. 

“I was joking, they’re finishing things up at the ranch. They would like to come into town soon. We want to explore the surrounding area, learn about the county.” Sharky shoved into Nick’s side, still trying to get him to address the fact John wasn’t drinking any fucking alcohol. Nick grimaced at him, raising his fist in a mock punch to warn him off doing it again. 

“So what exactly is it that’s goin’ on up there at the ranch? Lot of buildin’ work, huh? There are newer places closer to town you coulda bought.”

“We wanted to make our mark on a place. Build a home of our own. The land is beautiful up there, with the mountains nearby and the--” Sharky cut in, getting too impatient to wait for Nick to talk for him. 

“Mmhmm, beautiful country, great farms, that’s great John, that’s-that’s just great but can you tell me one thing? Why the hell aren’t you drinking, my man, hm? Would you say it is against your like, y’know, religion or anything?” He drew out the word religion while looking purposefully at Nick. Nick let out a noise of exasperation and shook his head, taking another few chugs of his beer. John seemed taken aback, like he had forgotten Sharky was there, but smiled to regain his composure. 

“Well, actually, I suppose you could say I am… recovering, which I’m not afraid to say these days. Two years now.” The colour had drained from Sharky’s face, and Nick gave him a sharp elbow in his ribs. 

“Aw hell man, I’m-I-I’m sorry for-” he seemed more aware of his drunkenness now, and tried his best to sit up straight as he talked, “-for bringing that up. That’s a helluva job there though, man, two years? Kee-keep it up.” 

“Sharky, you damned ass, maybe you should take a leaf outta his book.” Mary May said through gritted teeth, glaring at him. He sheepishly got to his feet, pretending to have only just noticed a guy he knew at the back of the bar who had been in there since before even Sharky got there. He raised his hand in a big fake wave at the guy, who looked Sharky over disinterestedly. “Kevin, my man! I didn’t see you there, I’ll be right over!” He swung off his stool and headed over between Nick and John, leaning to John to speak in his ear. “Hey, man, real nice to meet ya finally, heard so much about you, I can tell we’re gonna be friends.” Sharky stumbled off, leaving Nick and John alone, John shaking his head and watching Sharky walk. 

“Hey man, sorry for Shark, he’s a fuckin’ character but he’s as good as gold when you get to know him.” John turned back to him and smiled again, no teeth this time, but so much depth in his eyes Nick felt like he was drowning. 

“Don’t worry about it, I can tell he has a good soul.” He took a long gulp from his half pint of water, a definitely trace of disgust on his brow as he swallowed. Nick took his chance to jump in, not wanting to go back to the uncomfortable topic of John’s potential alcoholism. He felt he should at least wait until he’d known the guy a few months before he got into it, though John seemed to have no problems opening up about it. Nick knew some people that had battled it in the past, and he felt as useless with this stranger now as he had done then. 

“Thanks for comin’ down by the way. It’s real nice to have a new face in the bar. Sharky can get old, you know? I’ve been hanging off him since I could walk, and there’s not many people left in the valley that are our age.”

“It’s my pleasure, Nick. I wanted to come down here.” There was an intensity to John's gaze that reminded Nick of the way everyone seemed to just melt when he was talking to them. It was as though when you had his attention you were the most important thing in the world, like you and he had this open connection just the two of you. Nick found himself enjoying it, most people in town had known each other their whole lives, and they fell into a set pattern of comfortable interactions. Everyone knew everything about one another, but John was new, unknown, and so damn charming. Everyone had heard Nick's story a hundred times, seen him be born, grow up, and take over his Daddy's business. Sure they listened to him with amused patience, but they didn't really listen. John got an inkling of information from you and he looked like he was practically salivating. “I wanted to see you, and make it up to you for not having come by your airstrip yet.” Nick had almost forgotten he even invited them down there. 

“Aw, nah man, that's alright. You're busy setting up as my competitor, you can steal my trade secrets later, I get it.” John chuckled softly at him, turning his legs on his stool to face him. 

“You seem worried about this, Nick. Fixated. Do you need some business advice? Are you just being shy?” Nick snorted a laugh at him, rising to the teasing in John’s voice. 

“Am I being shy? You're the man who won't even say what his business is. Maybe you're shy, maybe you ain't even got an idea for this little set up of yours and you keep coming round prying into mine tryna steal my well established and trusted trade.” John had one arm on the bar now, disbelief in his smile as he shook his head. 

“I haven't even visited your airstrip yet, and you accuse me of moving all the way to Hope County, Montana, packing up my life and my brothers just to steal Rye & Sons aviation: crop dusters extraordinaire.” 

“Hey man, fuck you alright, I got a great little set up down there gettin' plenty of money in, and gettin’ to fly in my baby all day.” Nick was grinning while he said this, playing John's game with him. John held up his arms in mock defeat, his eyes glittering deadly in the dark. “D’you get to do what you love every day with your big fancy secret somethin' up there?” The smile faded from John's face and he nodded in acceptance. 

“That is a very valid point there. You must feel very fortunate.” 

“Yeah, man. I do. I wouldn't trade what I got for the world, y’know? I've been dreamin’ of those big skies since I was just a nipper, just waitin’ to get up there in ol’ Carmina like my Dad and his Pa had. Never let us down yet, that beautiful girl.” Nick was smiling as he spoke, not really looking at John but dreaming of golden summers past, smelling that sweet smell of fresh warm grass and earthy dust that swirled round him as he ran through the fields by the airstrip, watching his Daddy take off in Carmina, yellow and glorious in the beating sun. He remembers trying to run so fast it felt like flying, imagined it was him up there among the clouds and the deep blue of Montana skies. It was too easy to get lost in a reverie when he thought of his home. John smiled a small smile at the expression on Nick's face, knowing it was would he could only dream of. And he did dream of it, dreamt of a happy home the way Nick dreamt of flying. He could feel the Envy bubble in his chest, and he tried so hard to swallow it back down. He remembered every slow searing carve the knife had left on his skin as he had cut it into him to atone the first time, and thought of how it had yet to be struck through. 

“You are a very lucky man, Nick Rye. Not everyone can say they hold so much love for their job.” 

“Yeah, I guess I am. You don't love what you do then?” John scoffed, pulling an expression that read don't ask, and shaking his head. 

“I'm not fortunate enough to know what I love.” John paused, knowing he was walking a dangerous edge. Jacob had told him to keep Nick away, stop him from sniffing out what was happening at the ranch, and John had heard the people of Falls End talk about the bar so often it sounded as though it was the only place anyone ever went. Nick had asked him, a few times, to come down, so John had figured joining him there would keep him from coming up to the ranch any time soon looking for him. He figured he was looking for a friend, and forging links with the town was going to make their road easier, and clear the path for them. But people naturally asked questions, and he knew he could only fob Nick off for so long before having to answer some. He had been a lawyer, and steering conversation was his specialty. He could spin tales as though they were second nature to him. But the people here were warm and open, they had such a strong community that John found himself wanting to be part of it. More envy. He found himself wishing he could just reach out to these people, have normal relationships, but he knew that was impossible if he was to be a Herald. Building trust was his first task for the Father before his four stages of atonement would begin. Sometimes it meant they were more willing. “But I get to be with my brothers, and that is truly a gift.” 

“So come on, then. What is it you all do, huh?” John looked at Nick like he was judging whether he was worthy of knowing that much information about him. Nick was pretty buzzed from the few beers he'd had with Sharky before John had shown up, and John knew he was just being genuinely curious. He sighed before replying.

“Jacob, I'm sure is obvious. He's a veteran, served with the 82nd airborne in the Gulf War. Did a few tours in Iraq and Afghanistan too. Joseph… honestly, Joseph is a preacher, and a will unto himself these days. He tries to help communities where he goes, and he teaches.” He pauses again, almost looking pained to have to discuss himself, who he had been, and not who he is now. He felt like he had killed John Duncan and buried him in Atlanta.

“...And You?” Nick says casually, so casually it surprises John, surprised at the gravity of what he is asking, and what he has no idea of. To remember another life.

“I'm a lawyer. Or, I suppose I was a lawyer. I'm not with a firm at the moment, so I'm not practicing. But I help with the business.” Nick made a sound like everything had suddenly been revealed to him, shaking his head. John looked at him questioningly. 

“You're a lawyer, that's why you're so fuckin’ slippery.” Nick grinned at him. “Shoulda known it from the teeth" 

“Slippery?! I have been nothing but warm and welcoming to you, and you call me slippery?” John was laughing, And it felt good. Good to get away from the intensity of his brothers. Forget for one second that he was trying to act as a scout for The Plan Joseph was looking to start now they were settled. 

“Hey man, you’re the one hiding out up there in the fields, only comin’ down to step foot in Church like a good Catholic boy. Bein’ oh-so-secretive about what you’re up to. Don’t know how a lawyer, and preacher and a soldier are gonna be runnin’ a ranch.” John chuckled at his barbs, taking another sip of tap water. 

“You really need to know this so badly, Nick?” Nick smiled at him, leaning his head on his hand with his elbow resting on the bar, nodding his head. “Alright, well, first we are of course building a house. But what we hope to build, what we hope to achieve is something more in the line of a sanctuary. A place for people seeking refuge from the world to come to and be part of. I’m hoping to set up a law practice specialising in pro bono work for people under our protection who otherwise couldn’t fight their injustices. Joseph is going to run prayer groups and work with Jacob to help train people, help heal people. We want to help save people from themselves, and keep them safe.” 

Nick could feel his smile dropping from his face as John spoke, feeling worse and worse with every word that came out of his mouth. Here he was, speculating at all the nefarious things could possibly explain the Seed brothers, and he hadn’t even stopped to consider the possibility of something like this. It explained the weird differences in the way they were and what they did, why they didn’t heed the warnings of a cattle ranch failing to be successful. Why it didn’t matter if they didn’t have experience. Why Joseph was so oddly prognostic. They were setting up a charity to help people get back on their feet, in the beauty of the mountains and the rolling country in the south towards the ranch. 

“...y’know, that’s a really fuckin’ great thing to be workin’ on, man. That’s not somethin’ you love doin’? Sounds like an incredible thing to be doin’ for folks.” 

“Well, let’s just say I don’t feel the way towards it as I can tell you are towards flying. You strike me as having always loved to fly… who taught you?” John had managed to quickly divert attention of him again before Nick could dig into his plans. He was very good at making the group that Joseph had founded sound like a normal, and even noble thing to anyone outside it, but he worried that trying to give more details would make the cracks start to show. Nick just grinned, delighted to talk about Carmina. 

“Ah, my Dad took me out for the first time when I was 12, had me sit on his lap and take control, him sittin’ there just in case somethin’ should happen. God, I still remember that day, what a beautiful day. Never seen a sunset like it, honestly. I had to take over my Dad’s business at some point, and he knew how much I wanted to go up there, so he startin’ teachin’ me when my Mom was y’know out, or at work, or whatever. I was sixteen the first time he let me take her out myself. My Mom just about killed him, wouldn’t stop bitin’ his head off for weeks. Couldn’t stop me then though, had a taste for the skies. Been out ever since.” John was relishing watching Nick talk about himself. The booze gave him a tiny slur on some of his words, and his face looked dreamy as he reminisced, stopping every so often to make eye contact. John would smile and nod at him to keep him talking on to him. 

“Hey man, didn’t you say somethin’ about wantin’ a plane? You fly them, then?” Nick had noticed John’s interest in planes the first time they spoke, whether or not he actually flew them himself remained to be seen. John nodded, face making it clear he was surprised Nick remembered. 

“I’ve taken a few lessons. The airstrip at the ranch would really be to help get supplies and people in and out, save them the drive from Missolua, but I have to admit, it’s partly for selfish reasons too. I can’t get enough of flying, not that Joseph approves. I find it so… exhilarating. Gets the adrenaline running. Can’t find much that makes me feel the same way these days.” Nick pounces on what John is saying, thrilled to have someone to talk to how might actually know something about planes. Sharky didn’t give a shit, he just wanted to know if you could strap dynamite on them and fly them into stuff to blow it up. 

“Yeah? Aw man, well, if you’re ever lookin’ for more lessons, I’d be glad to help you out, y’know? Carmina needs a bit of a delicate touch, but she’ll treat you real good. We’ve got the biggest airstrip for miles too.” John smiled another dazzling smile. 

“That sounds perfect, Nick. I’d really like that.” John drained the rest of his water glass quickly, trying not to focus on how warm it was, dropping it back onto the bar and nodding at Mary May who had been watching them both distantly from the other end of the bar. Nick noticed as he got up from the bar stool. 

“You’re not goin’ already, are ya? You just got here.” John let out a hint of a laugh, a few breathy exhales from his nose. 

“I hate to cut the night short, but I have to get back to the ranch to help out. I only managed to sneak off as the charming baby brother.” He reaches out towards Nick, squeezing his shoulder again, as he moves to leave. “I’ll be sure to drop by for those flying lessons, though. Maybe next week, hm? Mary May, the water, and your company, is much appreciated. I’ll see you both at Church.” Just like that, as quickly as he had come, John was out of the bar. Mary and Nick looked at each other, both baffled and amused and flustered by the whole thing. Sharky seeing John leave, slammed his beer bottle down on the table, walking away from the guy he had been talking to as he was mid sentence, hurrying over to Nick while watching the door close behind John. 

“Aw, man, he’s gone again? Did he say anythin’? Is he comin’ back? Did I fuck it all up? I didn’t mean to talk about his drinkin’ and shit. Did he mention me?” Nick rolls his eyes, giving Sharky a sharp shove backwards. 

“Aww, Nick, looks like Sharky’s got a crush.”


End file.
